There was a recent announcement (19 Sept. 2012) from Microsoft for enhancements to Windows Azure SQL Database.
Summary of Enhancements
- Windows Azure SQL Database can be used in Linked Server and Distributed Queries
- Recursive Triggers are now supported within Windows Azure SQL Database
- DBCC SHOW_STATISTICS comes to Windows Azure SQL Database
- Changes to the Windows Azure SQL Database firewall can be made at the database level and at the server level
My Notes and Thoughts
I am looking forward to using these enhancements in future projects. The support for Linked Server against Windows Azure SQL Database should be useful in gathering data for reporting and analysis. It also seems that linked servers could be very useful in creating hybrid solutions.
As a general rule, I don’t use triggers very often because it is too easy to introduce unintended side effects. I am not sure how often I will need recursive trigger but it is nice to know the feature is there when it is needed.
DBCC SHOW_STATISTICS is one of the enchantments that I am surprised it has taken so long to add. This have been a very useful feature in a normal SQL Server to assist with performance tuning.
Changing of firewall rules at the database level is another enhancement that I am not sure how often I will use but I can see where it would be very useful.
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